Thursday October 16, 2014 Vol. 2, No. 34
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Harding faces Burns for Peoria County board seat By BILL KNIGHT
Peoria County’s District 16 includes all or parts of Elmwood, Logan, Rosefield and Trivoli Townships, and it’s one of the few contested races in the County. Incumbent Brad Harding, a 57-year-old Trivoli farmer and part-time media consultant, is a Republican who graduated from Farmington High School and earned degrees from Illinois Central College and Illinois State University. Married with three children, Harding For The Weekly Post
Harding, Burns in Elmwood Saturday
ELMWOOD – Peoria County Board District 16 incumbent Brad Harding and challenger Dick Burns will appear here Saturday (Oct. 18) in a candidate forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria at Morrison & Mary
says he’s a Peoria County Weather Spotter active with the Farm Bureau and the Trivoli United Methodist Church. He was first elected in 2008.
Wiley Library. Roberta Parks, former president of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, will moderate the 10 a.m. forum between Democrat Burns and Republican Harding. The forum is free and open to the public.
Challenger Dick Burns, 67, is a Kickapoo farmer, cattleman and Burrus Seed regional sales manager. A Democrat who earned a degree from the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign after serving in Vietnam with the Marine Corps, he’s married with one child. Burns says he’s involved with 4H, the American Legion, the Peoria County Beef Association, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The Weekly Post asked both candidates two questions. Here are their responses: Question: Peoria County faces an estimated $3.5 million shortfall. Should Heddington Oaks be examined as an expen-
diture that should be cut, or should the County protect the home as meeting one of the County’s expressed goals (providing a safe and healthy community, a healthy living environment, a high performing public organization and high quality public facilities). Harding: Neither. Peoria County taxpayers own our $90 million Long Term Care Facility, Heddington Oaks, and we will not pay off the bonds for 29 years. It’s ours no matter what. Continued on Page 7
Elmwood home for a hero gets new donations
PRINCEVILLE HOMECOMING
By JEFF LAMPE
ELMWOOD – Thanks to strong support from the local community, construction is likely to start here next spring on a new home for a U.S. veteran. Organizers Gerri Pettit and Georgia Stevens of Elmwood have been working since spring to find a property and to raise funds for the Elmwood Military Build, the second project under Rep. Aaron Shock’s Habitat For Heroes initiative. The first home was built this Pettit summer in Morton. In recent weeks efforts have taken off with donations for the South Locust St. home coming from contractors, tradesmen, businessmen and citizens. “It has gone very well and the community has Stevens been great in their response,” Stevens said. “We did our first mailing recently and we’ve got a real good response from that.” In addition to financial donations, the Elmwood Military Build has also received an impressive list of donated labor and materials, including: Weekly Post Staff Writer
Princeville High School celebrated Homecoming with a parade that featured creations from home rooms. The winning entry is shown middle left (No. 12) and was built by the Class of 2015. Also honored last weekend was Mr. Football Tim Hefler and Queen Jordan Kraft (above). There was also a reunion for the Class of 2004, and the football team beat AnnawanWethersfield, 10-7. Photos by Collin Fairfield.
Brimfield-Jubilee bridge should reopen soon By BILL KNIGHT
BRIMFIELD – A long drive is almost over for several Peoria County residents. Peoria County crews working on the Brimfield-Jubilee Bridge last week finished placing rip-rap in the ditches and placement of the entrance culverts, and resident engineer Bill For The Weekly Post
Pearsall said he hopes to re-open the span by the end of this month, depending on weather. “It was a busy week on the job site,” he said. “They also completed grading for the roadway and began placing the aggregate to pave the road on.” This week the contractor will continue to place aggregate for the road
and possibly pave the road with asphalt by Friday, he told The Weekly Post. “As we get closer to the end of the job, there will be a few small items to work on after the road is paved before the road can be opened,” Pearsall noted. “Again, thank you for your patience and cooperation during this project.”
Continued on Page 2